Volkswagen Golf: 40 Years in 40 Pictures

The 7-generation revolutionary celebrates four decades and 30 million units sold.

Since March, 1974, the VW Golf has been a dedicated fighter in the hatchback category, undergoing an evolution that brought it from a suspicious economy car, the likes of which America had never seen before, to the inventor of the hot-hatch category. Over time, it spawned additional models, from the high performance GTI and R to reliable station wagons and a higher-roofline Plus model, in addition to Cabrio models and an EV. Saying happy birthday Golf, here are 40 pictures of the model’s evolution.